Hans Christian Orsted

Hans Christian Ørsted (1777-1851) was a Danish physicist and chemist, influenced by the thinking of Immanuel Kant. In 1820 he discovered the relationship between electricity and magnetism in a very simple experiment. He demonstrated that a wire carrying a current was able to deflect a magnetised compass needle. Ørsted did not suggest any satisfactory explanation of the phenomenon, nor did he try to represent the phenomenon in a mathematical framework.

In 1825 he made a significant contribution to chemistry by producing aluminum for the first time.

See also: James Clerk Maxwell, physics.